A Week's Worth

ByRobert KilbornMarch 12, 2007

• The downturn of stocks earlier this month didn't last long, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounding 1.3 percent in last week's trading.

• Those promotions dangled by commercial tax-preparers that offer loans in anticipation of a refund aren't finding many takers, according to credit and information management specialist TransUnion Interactive. Only 13 percent of respondents to its third annual survey on refund-use plans said they expect to take advantage of such opportunities. Forty-one percent said any money coming back from federal or state revenue services will go toward paying down a mortgage.

• As excited as you may be to start a new job, you won't be unusual if – in less than a year – you've already left it, the Novations consulting group says. It polled human-resource directors at 2,000 employers and found that one-third reported a dropout rate of 10 percent to 25 percent "within the first year." The No. 1 reason: unrealistic expectations, either of the work or of the employer.

• Because of their busy schedules, half of all Americans have become buyers of ready-to-eat meals for home consumption at least once a week, results of a new survey show. That finding, in a poll by the Roper Starch organization, illustrates why the "home meal replacement segment" accounts for 80 percent of the growth in the food industry, says McKinsey & Co., a consulting group.